Washington Interested in Arrest of Armenian Journalist in Transdniestria

No detail on the arrest of Armenian national journalist Ernest Vardanyan in Transdniestria will be publicized till the end of the investigation, the President of the Transdniestrian Moldovan Republic Igor Smirnov said at a meeting with US Ambassador to Moldova Asif Chaudhry in Tiraspol, quoted by the Regnum news agency.

In response to the American diplomat's question why Vardanyan was arrested, Smirnov has reportedly said that he had violated the Transdniestrian law.

Vardanyan was arrested by Transdniestrian state security services on April 7 on high treason charges. According to the local law he can face 12-20 years in prison for high treason.

Moldovan authorities are also interested in Vardanyan's release and have called on Transdniestrian authorities to set him free.
Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Osipova was reported saying that "such trick by the political police may add tension in the region," adding that Vardanyan's arrest make his case an unprecedented one which can kick up wide international response.
Vardanyan is well-known in Moldova as an independent journalist whose articles and commentaries are often critical of officials in both Chisinau and Tiraspol.